To link to the entire object, paste this link in email, IM or documentTo embed the entire object, paste this HTML in websiteTo link to this page, paste this link in email, IM or documentTo embed this page, paste this HTML in website

Motivation and the meanings of health behavior as factors associated with eating behavior in Latino youth

MOTIVATION AND THE MEANINGS OF HEALTH BEHAVIOR AS FACTORS
ASSOCIATED WITH EATING BEHAVIOR IN LATINO YOUTH
by
Arianna D. McClain
_____________________________________________
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirement for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(PREVENTIVE MEDICINE: HEALTH BEHAVIOR)
August 2010
Copyright 2010 Arianna D. McClain

Purpose:This dissertation examined the roles of 1) motivation for healthy dietary habits, and 2) the meanings of eating behavior on dietary intake in Latino youth. Multiple objectives were addressed in the three studies that comprised this dissertation. Study 1 identified the affective meanings of dietary intake among minority children, developed factor items for the Meanings of Eating Index (MEI), validated the MEI, and explored whether the meanings identified were related to healthy (or unhealthy) dietary behavior in Latino youth. Study 2 examined the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for eating fruits and vegetables on dietary intake at baseline and on changes in dietary intake between baseline and follow-up in a randomized controlled trial in overweight Latina adolescents. Study 3 investigated whether motivation and the meanings of eating uniquely contributed to fruit and vegetable consumption in a predominantly Latino sample of elementary school children.; Methods:The participants were mostly Latino youth (ages 8-18), participating in one of five studies. Study 1 used focus group data from two studies conducted at USC as part of formative research for multiple diet and physical activity interventions. The second part of Study 1 used data from a school-based obesity prevention pilot study entitled Pathways.; Study 2 used data from the Strength and Nutrition Outcomes for Latino Adolescents (SANO LA) study, which was a 16-week, randomized controlled trial designed to examine the effects of the following four intervention groups on dietary behavior, adiposity, and insulin glucose regulation in overweight Latino adolescents girls aged 14-18 years: 1) control group (delayed intervention), 2) modified carbohydrate nutrition, 3) modified carbohydrate nutrition and strength training, and 4) modified carbohydrate nutrition and circuit and aerobic strength training.; Study 3 used data from a school-based study that aimed to evaluate whether a set of psychosocial scales, which were originally developed in non-minority middle school populations and adapted by our group for minority children ages 8-11, would be easily comprehensible for the younger minority sample and yield reliable data. Meanings were assessed with the Meanings of Eating Index constructed and developed in Study 1. Participants rated the frequency with which they acted on a specific meaning of eating behavior. A 3-point scale ranging from 1 (never) to 3 (often) was used. Higher scores indicated higher levels of performing that specific eating behavior. Motivation was assessed with the Motivation to Eat Fruits and Vegetables scale, which is an adapted version of the Motivation for Healthy Behaving measure from the Treatment and Self Regulation Questionnaire (TSRQ) measure developed by Williams et al. (Williams & Deci, 2001; Williams, Freedman, & Deci, 1998).; Dietary intake was assessed by one of three instruments: Study 1) food intake items taken from the Nurse’s Health Study survey (Willett et al., 1985), which is the instrument upon which the Youth/Adolescent Food Frequency Questionnaire (YAQ) was based (Rockett et al., 1997), Study 2) three-day dietary records (O'Connor et al., 2001), and Study 3) a previous day food checklist (F. E. Thompson et al., 2002).; Results:In Study 1, in a sample of 74 Latino youth (Mean age = 9.5 years; 76% female), the initial 58-item Meanings of Eating Index was reduced to a 19-item, 5-factor scale which comprised the final MEI. Factor 1: Personal Negative Emotions (7-items; α=0.84) Factor 2: Personal Well Being (4-items; α=0.76) Factor 3: Social Eating (4-items; α=0.52) Factor 4: Disturbed Eating (2-items; α=0.52) and Factor 5: Eating on Behalf of Others (2-items; α=0.55). The main findings were that personal negative emotions were positively associated with junk food consumption (r=0.23; p=0.02) and salty snack consumption (r=0.26; p=0.02), while personal well-being was positively associated with eating fruits and vegetables (r=0.23; p<0.05), vegetables (r=0.24; p=0.04), and vegetable soups (r=0.33; p<0.01).; In Study 2, in a sample of 37 overweight Latina girls (Mean age = 15.1 years), baseline findings illustrated that intrinsic motivation was associated with higher whole grain intake and extrinsic motivation was associated with lower fiber intake, after controlling for confounders. At follow-up, increases in intrinsic motivation were associated with increases in total sugar, decreases in total fat, and increases in soluble fiber, after controlling for confounders.; In Study 3, intrinsic motivation and one meanings of index factor (i.e. eating on behalf of others) were independently associated with fruit intake in a predominantly Latino sample of 251 elementary school children (Mean age = 9.7 years; 57.8% female; 41% Latino). However, the amount of variance accounted for by motivation and the meanings of eating behavior was small.; Conclusion:Both motivation and the meanings of eating behavior uniquely contributed to variance in dietary intake in Latino youth and show some promise as tools for understanding the affective determinants of dietary intake in minority children. Although the direct influence of motivation and meanings may be small, the information gained from these and future studies may point to new directions for interventions aimed at improving dietary choices.

MOTIVATION AND THE MEANINGS OF HEALTH BEHAVIOR AS FACTORS
ASSOCIATED WITH EATING BEHAVIOR IN LATINO YOUTH
by
Arianna D. McClain
_____________________________________________
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirement for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(PREVENTIVE MEDICINE: HEALTH BEHAVIOR)
August 2010
Copyright 2010 Arianna D. McClain